California may soon be the first state to include LGBT history in its high-school textbooks, a move that advocates say could help combat bullying. Corbis

April 15, 2011

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A bill that passed California's state Senate on Thursday mandates that high-school history textbooks mention gay and lesbian pioneers, just as other state laws have required that key native American and African-American figures be included in texts. If Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown signs the bill into law — he has not yet taken a position — California will become the first state to take this step. And since the textbooks produced for California's huge market are sold across the nation, smaller states would likely follow California's lead, willingly or not. Does LGBT history belong in public schools?

Yes, it's about time: "Most textbooks don't include any information about LGBT historical figures or the LGBT civil rights movement, which has great significance to both California and U.S. history," said Democratic state Sen. Mark Leno, who sponsored the bill, in a press release. "We can't tell our youth that it's OK to be yourself and expect them to treat their peers with dignity and respect" if we squelch this history."California Senate passes landmark LGBT education bill"